Gourmet Alfajores prepared by an Argentinian couple at their London chocolate shop are among the top 10 gifts in the world recommended for important dates, such as Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Limited edition box of 6 alfajores to celebrate February 14th It costs £30 ($41) and is very popular throughout the UK..

With flavors combined with Malbec, yerba mate and dulce de leche, among other Argentinean distinctions, alfajores of On located at level Europe’s premier chocolatier and chocolate maker. Today, in the most prestigious English magazines they are in all rankings of recommendations to try and buy.

Those who are responsible for On son Mara Romero and Emanuel Ferrandez, a 43 year old Argentine couple trying their luck in a gastronomic venture on British soil. And he has it, accompanied by a lot of effort.

They launched their project with a strong Argentinian footprint amid the pandemic, with an initial investment of 12,000 pounds (US$16,500). Thanks to the first review that their alfajores had, from the British newspaper The Observer, their sales skyrocketed and managed to recover all capital in just one month. It was followed by the people of the BBC and Forbes UK.

In dialogue with History writer from training center today in Haddenham, near Oxford; Ferrandez recounts his history and his company’s expansion projects with enthusiasm.

“Today, in addition to the traditional, we prepared a limited edition of up to 200 boxes of 6 alfajores, with flavors that never repeat, for customers who buy online and also for corporate gifts. The idea is to grow to scale without losing care for each prepared alfajores – today they are hand painted one at a time -. We are also studying how to take a model to another country, maybe with a franchise that can guarantee Sur’s spirit will not change,” he hoped Ferrandez.

The ingredients used in alfajores come mostly from Latin America. “We use chocolate from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil. In recent years there have been several supply is delayed due to pandemic but we can replace because there are very good chocolates from other countries in the region like Peru, Venezuela or Ecuador,” he explained.

What’s the alfajores of Sur like?

The preparation and serving of alfajores from the South has many differences from the industrial ones consumed in Argentina. “British people find Argentinian alfajores very sweet and very large. We we make real sweets, with flavors with Argentinean and Latin American roots but perfect for British tastes who consume it as a piece of chocolate or premium bonbon,” said Ferrandez. A goal he achieved and conveyed to local consumers.

Even at Forbes UK, they presented their product as “Luxurious Argentinian Alfajores, a special chocolate cake and dulce de leche highly prized by millions of Latin Americans” and with a “charming touch”.

So, one of the advantages that the alphajores of Sur have is not considered a daily bakery product but as part of a premium chocolate with a taste reminiscent of Argentina but with the high sophistication of European chocolate. This leads to higher prices and higher margins.

Maria Romero, Ferrandez’s wife and owner On at the forefront of preparation, He worked as a chocolate maker for 20 years at the Savoy Hotel and Hilton Buenos Aires, and at chocolatiers such as Rococo Chocolates and L’Artisan du Chocolate.

She is responsible for the production of alfajores, as well as chocolate bars, truffles and branches, without neglecting the administration of the company along with her husband and final assistance from two temporary employees for some high demand.

Now, apart from traditional producing ‘Cambalache’ box with assorted alfajores reminiscent of Argentina such as Cortado, Caminito or Patagonia, started the Valentine’s Day special pre-sale “The slow ones don’t come back”.

A limited edition to share this February 14th, inspired by the innocent love before Wi-Fi and Spotify (from the 80s and 90s).

It has 6 alfajores in the gift box in three flavors: ‘Caramel noodle soup’: with 70% Peruvian chocolate, black biscuit ganache, cherry and mint. ‘Merenguitos’: Tumaco 85% Colombian chocolate, dry meringue and dulce de leche dan ‘Cesar Banana’: Macondo 60% Colombian Chocolate, lemon cake, banana ganache and dulce de leche.

They come in what Forbes UK describes as a ‘lovely touch’ and which is a thoughtful plus by the Sur owners. A ‘walkman’ shaped can which, in addition to alfajores, carries two playlists with slow Argentinean and international songs celebrating love.

The fact that they have cans, explains Emanuel, gives them the possibility to take full advantage of postal shipping. “Sur was born as an ecommerce company and today we make 100% of sales with shipping”, says.

Entrepreneurship in England, according to Ferrandez, is very easy compared to some of the complexity that exists in Argentina. “Here we started out as self-employed. We did checks and only one tax was paid. Everything was very clear and entrepreneurs were encouraged,” he said.